Text: A Talk
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In the process of growing up, each of us will have regrets to some extent, but whether to let them accompany them throughout their lives, or learn to reconcile with them in the process of growing up, has become a problem that everyone needs to solve.
Just like the protagonist of the novel "The Man Who Stole the Shadow", he finally understands his true inner thoughts through the shadow of "others", so as to achieve his own growth. Therefore, in addition to healing, the themes of "loss" and "growth" have also become unavoidable themes in the novel.
I didn't know how good it was when I didn't read it, but after reading it, I realized that this book is a warm and healing healing novel, evoking childhood memories and inner dreams.
The understanding of "shadows".
The image of "shadow" is the logical starting point of the whole novel, and it is also an important clue to the development of the plot.
The author believes that the "shadow" in the novel is an expression of the protagonist's inner self-image. Although the book is mainly about how he uses this ability to heal the minds of others, without describing too much about the "shadow" of the protagonist, the author is also able to feel the changes in his heart from the different manifestations of the protagonist to things.
In other words, the "shadow" is the self-expression of the protagonist in the process of growing up, and with the completion of the pursuit of the "shadow", he also completes his own growth and transformation.
"Shadow" and growth
Childhood - the repression of one's own feelings
The protagonist's self-repressed emotions in childhood are, on the one hand, because his father left him and his mother, and he has always maintained an evasive attitude towards his mother, and I spent a weekend with my mother, pretending not to know that she was hurt.
Although "I" did not use any words to express his mother's grief in the face of his mother's grief, it can be seen from the hero's real inner thoughts that he is worried about his mother, which is actually a kind of suppression of real emotions in his heart, and in the face of the reality that he cannot control, his own emotions finally chose to be silent.
On the other hand, it is to escape from the unknown, the protagonist of childhood accidentally finds a loving photo of his parents before their divorce in the attic, he wants to know why his father left, but he never asks his mother, and he does not express his feelings in other ways.
This internalized expression just shows that the insecure childhood environment brings great self-uncertainty to the protagonist, his reluctance to touch his mother's pain, and the closure of his true emotions in his heart.
Ivan the Guard was a person who could accompany the male protagonist who lacked friends at that time, but in this relationship, the male protagonist was also suppressing himself.
When Ivan asks him how he knows about his past with his father, and how he knows that he was trapped in the tool room during the fire, he chooses to run away because he is afraid that he will not be understood, and may even be "taken to see a psychiatrist", so he cannot show his true self to the outside world, and can only point the finger at himself, which is an inner denial, believing that he cannot be understood by others.
Ivan didn't ask much, just simply said what he thought, and the protagonist said what he thought from the heart: "I said almost everything, I want to talk to an adult so that I can tell him the truth. ”
After Ivan left town, instead of telling him that he had the ability to "steal shadows", "I" chose to hide myself. This kind of growth situation that does not dare to reveal the true thoughts in his heart is the root cause of the formation of his adult hesitant character.
(2) Self-expression during the transition period from children to adults
After meeting Claire on the beach, his long-suppressed emotions are briefly released, and Claire, a deaf and mute girl, is not only the protagonist's best friend, but also the protagonist's best listener.
When the shadow comes into contact with Claire's shadow, he retreats, not wanting to steal Claire's shadow, which hurts Claire very much, he hopes to get Claire's forgiveness, and also hopes to get Krel's trust, and take the initiative to say that he can "steal the shadow", this is the first time, he is willing to open his heart, and it can be regarded as a time to sharpen his heart.
The protagonist has never told anyone that he has the ability to steal shadows, but now, he is willing to tell Claire about his abilities, which shows that Claire has helped him grow up a lot.
During this time with Claire, he showed his true self for the first time, no longer the timid little boy, but the naughty and willful side, which not only enriches the image of the characters, but also allows us to see the multifaceted nature of the protagonist, whose true self is bound by past experiences.
The protagonist needs Claire's trust so that he can feel safe.
But later, for various reasons, he could never go back to Hai Town, and when he grew up, he gradually forgot the girl who could share his true thoughts with him, and he had to compromise with life, close himself again, and accept the task given to him by society to grow up to be what the world wants.
(c) Early adulthood – loss of feelings for oneself.
When he became an adult, he followed the instructions of the "shadow" to help those in need, and all this happened to him. He uses a miraculous ability to see through everyone's hearts and use his actions to help them, but he can't be sure what he wants and what he wants.
As an adult, the protagonist meets the girl Sophie, and the two quickly become good friends, and he also takes Sophie to meet Sophie's mother, although he is not sure about their relationship.
The mother realizes that her feelings for Sufi are not her true self, and Luc has said more than once that he likes Sophie, and when Sophie clearly states her feelings for the male protagonist, the male protagonist is still in a state of confusion.
He can't see through a person's true thoughts, but he can see through a person's heart, and even he can't feel his emotions accurately.
Spiritually, he lost himself, lost his judgment and choice in life.
This was evident from the time he went to find Claire, and when he found Claire and saw her holding the hand of another man, he began to doubt himself, "I have decided to fulfill my promise to Luc to cut off everything in the past and concentrate on studying. ”
Judging by his wavering mood, the protagonist is still hesitant to find Claire, and if it weren't for the death of his mother and his encounter with Ivan, the protagonist would probably give up on finding Claire. From this, it can be seen that his attitude towards Sophie is not pure, and the same is true towards Claire.
We can boldly speculate that in adulthood, the hero's inner self-disorientation has nothing to do with the object of his affection. This loss of self is the result of the actor's attempt to express his suppressed self-emotions but can't get it, which also has a lot to do with the inner shackles that the actor has formed before he becomes an adult.
(4) After the death of the mother - the transmutation of personal growth
The male protagonist changes after his mother's death, and under Ivan's guidance, he finds a letter that his mother wrote to me many years ago. This time, perhaps it was this sentence that freed "me" from the shackles of childhood. ”
Mother's words let the protagonist get rid of his childhood regrets, let him find the truth about the lack of fatherly love in his childhood, and gave him the courage and strength to rediscover himself In fact, some love has not been shown, but it does not mean that it has never existed.
His father's departure has an invisible impact on his childhood, and from the moment he thinks his father's departure is self-inflicted, the protagonist has an inexplicable hurt to his inner self.
When he learns from the letter that his father has never forgotten him and not only attends his graduation ceremony, but also writes him a letter, it is a huge shock to the protagonist and heals him of his past pains.
The joy of regaining his father is intertwined with the grief of losing his mother, which makes him realize that some things can't wait, and Ivan's appearance is just a good introduction that allows the protagonist to find Claire and find himself faster.
At the end of the story, all the experiences bring great growth to the protagonist, who not only feels his own thoughts, but also bravely abandons the shackles and prejudices of the world, and pursues the true desires of his heart without hesitation.
He returned to the small town of the sea, found his old kite, repaired it, and then returned to Claire's home, fulfilling his promise that he would come back to her.
At the end of the novel, the author writes: "Suddenly, I saw my shadow leaning sideways and kissing Claire's. So, despite my shame, I took off my glasses and followed the example of a dark shadow.
The intersection of the two shadows represents the true connection of the heart, recalling the panic and fear when the protagonist first saw the "shadow" in his childhood, and now, he has the courage to express his heart, which shows that he finally has the courage to face his true emotions and is willing to express them, thus completing his own growth.
A manifestation of modern self-consciousness
(1) The Modern Self and the "Shadow"
Modernization brings a sense of material satisfaction, but in the face of modernization, people have lost themselves, lost their happiness, lost themselves under the captivity of powerful modern machines, and even been eroded by highly modern civilization into an isolated existence, the distance between man and nature, man and society, man and culture, man and himself.
In today's rapid development of modern life, people are only satisfied with the satisfaction of the material level, but can not make people get the corresponding changes and progress at the spiritual level, many hidden emotions at the psychological level are like "shadows", invisible but everywhere, invisibly affecting the rhythm of people's lives.
Today, some people are still in a state of material abundance and spiritual deficiency, so that they have lost the core of value, which leads to two misunderstandings: First, they are not ideologically prepared for the negative factors of modernization, encounter setbacks in the process of modernization, and find the contradiction between the modernization movement and their subjective will, thus falling into disappointment, anxiety, and a crisis of faith.
Or blindly indulge in the sensual pleasures of secular life, glamorous on the surface, empty and lonely on the inside, and become the walking dead or spiritual beggars of modernity.
There is an antagonistic relationship between the intensification of competition and the excessive pursuit of material wealth and fame, and once this balance is broken, a series of associated emotional problems will erupt without warning.
(2) The reader's feelings and self "shadow".
Most people love it because it's a beautiful, gentle, touching, healing web of stories.
Readers are able to resonate with the characters in the work, not only because the protagonist in the novel is nameless and can be used as many people as he wants, but also because this state of self-repression is real in real life, and many readers can find a "shadow" in it and find the same mental state as the characters in the book.
This reading tendency of readers also reflects the lack of inner emotions of modern people, and people want to find and find the missing parts of themselves in real life by reading healing books, hoping to heal the "shadow" in their hearts.
(3) Development facilitated by "shadows".
Surveys show that some people still cling to narrow values. Blindly pursuing the so-called "success", and even suppressing the true self in his heart over and over again, he never thinks about whether what he is looking for is what he really desires in his heart.
In this era of rapid development, many people have found a decent, socially high-status job, just like the main character in the book, but they never think about whether their career is suitable or not, and their work often makes people confused.
Compared to the male protagonist, Luc provides us with another way of thinking, when society divides different professions into three, six, nine, etc., he chooses to give up the "path of medicine" and return to an ordinary baker, as long as the job is in line with his heart, he will not care about other people's opinions.
Only when he calms down can he hear what the "shadow" in his heart is saying. Be able to understand what you really think in your heart, and be willing to accept it and face it bravely.
Of course, everyone has their own choices, and no one can easily change a person's growth trajectory, but this book needs to give people more thinking, not blind obedience, which is why this book can still sell so well under the pressure of negative reviews, and it reflects that self-growth can inspire modern people to varying degrees.
"Happy people use their childhood to heal their whole lives, and unhappy people use their lives to heal their childhood". These are Adler's words of wisdom, and they also apply to The Man Who Stole the Shadows.
The lack of paternal love in childhood suppressed his own emotions, which not only caused the protagonist to fall into an emotional dilemma as an adult, but also made his inner self unable to express it well.
In the male protagonist's childhood, Claire was the only one who allowed him to truly express himself. Just like the shadow of "self" left in the "shadow" of childhood, for the adult protagonist, finding Claire is not only to make up for the regrets of the past, but also to find himself and make up for the missing part of his growth.
In real life, many people lose their ability to recognize and express themselves due to some concepts or unexpected events in the process of growing up. The emotions they show are often not what they think, but they are the unavoidable and thought-provoking themes of this era.
The protagonist's growth process fully embodies the theme of "finding yourself and getting out of childhood". This paper interprets the growth process of the protagonist and the self-expression of the characters, in order to play a certain therapeutic role in the historical treatment of readers and help readers find their own "shadow".